The sky was as clear as could be. I took a friend up for a ride, and since it was so clear, I decided to let him do the piloting. I put us on a course to fly over a sharp bend in a big river - which was clearly visible - and told him to head for that bend. He acknowledged, and I just sat back to enjoy the ride.

Meanwhile, my friend was getting a little nervous, staring at the instrument panel, trying to keep the aircraft straight and level. A few minutes later looking out the front window, I noticed (as you might guess) that the bend in the river was now well off to our left. I nudged him with my elbow, pointed to the river, and he, nodding his head, turned us back on course.

It wasn’t long, however, before the busy-ness of flying got the better of him again. Sure enough, the river bend began to slide farther and farther off center. What was his problem? Simple - my friend was distracted. There were so many things demanding his attention that he didn’t notice that we were no longer on course. We had drifted.

However, lest you all think this only happens to novices... I was flying another friend along a route I had flown many times. I could just about “do it in my sleep”. Of course, I still put all the necessary information into my navigation systems. Nevertheless, as we took off, my only thoughts were about how easy this would be.

After about 30 minutes of enjoying the scenery, I decided to double-check our position. You guessed it! We were miles off course! What was my problem? I had become complacent. My self-confidence had caused me to cease paying attention. The result? We drifted. To drift is easy. All it takes is lack of attention. I don’t believe anyone ever decides to drift. It just happens, and usually without our even noticing.

The New Testament book of Hebrews (one of my favorites) was written to a group of people who were wavering in their faith and commitment to Christ. They were even wondering if they should return to Judaism in order to be right with God. To counter these thoughts, the author of the book strongly emphasizes one main theme - Jesus Christ is supreme, superior to all other religious powers, authorities, and influences.

Early in the book, the author issues a stern warning to his readers: “Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away.” (2:1). In stunning simplicity, this warning sets before us two possible courses. We note by its structure that our natural tendency, which must be overcome, is to “drift away”. Of course, the causes of drifting can be many, but I think that “distraction” and “complacency” would be the most common. Indeed, it’s interesting to note that these same two problems are addressed in the letters to the churches in Ephesus and Laodicea in the book of Revelation.

The Ephesian church was a very busy church, with right doctrine and sound teaching, and was active in the propagation of the Gospel. Frankly, if I were looking for a church, this would be the kind of church I would seek. However, after praising their labors, Christ offers His own assessment: they had “left their first love”. Their busy-ness in the Lord’s service had caused them to “forget” the Lord Himself. They were active doing things, but were not being what they were called to be. They were, like Martha of Bethany, “distracted by much serving”, and had drifted from the primary goal of love for their Lord. 

The Laodiceans, on the other hand, were in a different situation. In this classic passage, the Lord rebukes them sharply for being “lukewarm”. He even said that He could wish that they would be cold - so that they would at least know that they were in trouble. Instead, they were just lukewarm. They had become complacent. They no longer cared. I am confident that no one in either of these churches made a deliberate choice to stop being fully committed to Christ. They had not purposefully turned aside. They had drifted. Imperceptibly, little by little, they had gotten off course. And the Lord, in His mercy, awakens them back to reality, and calls them back to Himself. This, then, is the second point about drifting: while it is easy to drift, to get back or stay on course requires definite decisions and diligence. In an airplane, good navigation doesn’t happen by chance or guesswork. We must first know where we are, and then make plans to get to where we need to be. 

It is this very point that the writer of Hebrews makes in the warning. Our natural tendency is to drift. To correct it, note the author’s wording: “we must give the more earnest heed...”, or, “Pay very close attention!” Notice he doesn’t just say “pay attention”, for people can “pay attention” to things but do so in only a limited way, or with their attention divided among many things.  No, our attention must be “more earnest” (in greater abundance and accompanied with strong desire and purpose). We are to be focused, diligent, consumed with the purpose of staying “on course”.

And, just what is it we are fixating on? The supremacy of Christ. He is all in all, and He is above all. He is to be our goal, our motivation, our greatest desire. As I heard so often in Bible school, “All is in Christ...all else is nothing”. My friends, I do not write this as if I were pointing the finger at you. The finger is pointing at me as well. Drifting because of distraction or complacency is easy. Despite all of the time spent on training our hearts and minds otherwise, it still happens. And so I ask, are we, in fact, “paying more earnest heed”? Or, have we drifted?

May God grant us the grace to pursue Him, always, with all our hearts.

In His Service,

Stephen P, Tecklenberg
President / Executive Director